


The First Day of the Rest of Our Lives

by thekeyholder



Category: Muse
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Crossover, Good Omens References, Introspection, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-27
Updated: 2013-09-27
Packaged: 2017-12-27 19:00:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/982469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thekeyholder/pseuds/thekeyholder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An angel and a demon are enemies, of course. But after 6000 years they are sort of friends. What happens after they survive the Apocalypse together?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The First Day of the Rest of Our Lives

**Author's Note:**

> The story was inspired by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's book _Good Omens_ , more specifically by the story of two characters, Aziraphale and Crowley, who are clearly gay for each other and I thought the Belldom version would be nice. The longer bits in italics are actual quotes from the book.  
> This is my entry for the September challenge at [stellarclouds](http://stellarclouds.livejournal.com/) and is dedicated to my dear [Laura](http://laurad2609.livejournal.com/) who is the best friend one could ask for. Happy belated birthday!

_Dominic smiled at Matthew._  
  
 _“I’ll just let you know,” he said, “if we don’t get out of this, that…I’ll have known, deep down inside, that there was a spark of goodness in you.”_  
  
 _“That’s right,” said Matthew bitterly. “Make my day.”_  
  
 _Dominic held out his hand._  
  
 _“Nice knowing you,” he said._  
  
 _Matthew took it._  
  
 _“Here’s to next time,” he said. “And…Dominic?”_  
  
 _“Yes.”_  
  
 _“Just remember, deep down inside, you were just enough of a bastard to be worth liking.”_  
  
  
They survived the Apocalypse (more precisely, the Almost-Apocalypse), had been caught between the crossfire of Heaven and Hell and all Matthew could think about was that one scene where they kind of said farewell to each other and finally admitted openly just how close friends they had been.  
  
He was driving back to London in a borrowed car – sadly, his black Bentley had fallen as a victim of the Almost-Apocalypse – and from time to time he glanced from behind his sunglasses at the passenger seat, but Dominic was just staring out the window the whole time, a peculiar smile gracing his lips.  
  
Matthew wanted to say something, anything, just to get rid of that uneasiness in his stomach and the lump in his throat, but did not know what would be appropriate. As far as he knew, there was no book on _101 topics to discuss after the Apocalypse: avoid those awkward silences even after the devil’s own time_. For the first time in his over six thousand years he didn’t know what to say, so he just let the Best of Queen cassette fill in the silence.  
  
He was so immersed in evoking certain memories that he automatically drove to Dominic’s bookshop in Soho. Only when he laid his eyes on the still smoking ruins did he remember the tragic accident. Everything was gone: the bookshop, the flat above it, everything. Nevertheless, Dominic got out of the car.  
  
“Angel, wait! Where are you going?”  
  
Dominic, surprised, turned back, his blond hair bouncing with the sudden movement.  
  
“To my bookshop.” He looked back at it and sighed. “Well, to what remains of it anyway.”  
  
“But…you can’t stay there!” Matthew protested.  
  
“Don’t worry, my dear boy. I should start cleaning it. The normal way,” he added for clarification.  
  
And Dominic said it so naturally that Matthew just nodded, though he was still confused, and started the engine, watching in the rearview mirror as the angel waved goodbye.  
  
Dominic did start cleaning his place, but he soon found a relatively unharmed armchair and for the first time in many, many years he fell asleep. In another quiet neighbourhood of London the demon named Matthew, after having acquiesced that his flat was in ruins and that all his houseplants had given up on life in his absence, went to the bedroom he had never used before and fell asleep as well, dreaming of blond locks and sweet, angelic smiles.

 

* * * * *

  
Warm afternoon rays glided over his stubbly face and Matthew opened his eyes with great shock, deciding instantly that he wouldn’t tell a soul about his little…fourteen-hour long nap. Sleep wasn’t unknown to Matthew – after all he did sleep through the 14th century – but every time it was by his choice. He didn’t mind, though, he felt fresher than on the day of his creation.  
  
He turned on his right side and looked through the huge windows, pouting disappointedly as threatening black clouds crawled on the sky. By some miracle, his thoughts were the complete opposite of the weather: unlike the day before he knew how he felt and what he should have said to Dominic in the car.  
  
At first he thought it was purely just physical attraction for something unreachable. Matthew and Dominic first met in the Garden, not long after Matthew had tempted Eve with the apple. He curled lazily in his serpent form around the lowest branch of the tree when Dominic appeared beside him (in his true angelic form which was unbearable for humans).  
  
As they were discussing the destiny of humanity, Matthew felt his scales tingling. He fought against the urge to snake around (excuse the pun) around the angel’s waist, but he just had to shoot out his forked tongue several times, imagining that he could taste Dominic’s holy essence. That essence was not unknown to him; he used to be an angel as well before he sauntered vaguely downwards, following the coolest fallen angel gang.  
  
Then they were both sent to Earth – in Dominic’s case, sadly, it was a kind of punishment, really (which he didn’t deserve). Dominic’s mission was to spread love and kindness while Matthew laughed at his hard efforts, relishing in how easily humans yielded to temptation, whether it was carnal or financial. The years passed by and everything changed, but there was one face that always remained present in Matthew’s life.  
  
The demon smiled in his pillow as he remembered the night when they entered into the Agreement: there was lots of wine involved and they made a deal not to interfere in each other’s business. Things had been great since then; they also met up quite often to chat and get drunk.  
  
But one might wonder, what was Dominic to him? _The Enemy, of course. But an enemy for six thousand years now, which made him a sort of friend._ Hmm, yes, that was true until a couple of days before, but now he knew clearly that he wanted more. He’d been denying it since forever, but the feelings gushed forth the moment when he realised that he might lose Dominic, when it dawned on him that maybe the world would end and he would never ever hear Dominic call him “my dear boy”.  
  
Matthew decided it was time to get out of bed – if Dominic wanted to clean his bookshop the “normal” way (for them the normal way would be the supernatural one, no?) he might as well help him. Ugh, how un-demonic! That book shop meant so much to Dominic, though; in fact it was a cover for his invaluable book collection. Dominic was an angel, but he also worshipped books.  
  
That meant that if Matthew wanted to see his angel happy, he should go there and help him clean the place. However, if he only did it to see Dominic smiling, then it was quite selfish, right? Hey, there were actually Ulterior Motives behind his actions! Would his bosses believe him? Matthew wondered for a second if a demon could be banned for not being evil enough. He decided to steal a kid’s lollipop outside. That should be enough evil for one day and anyway, humans were far better at causing each other misery than he or Hell was.  
  
Matthew got out of bed and looked into a mirror. He was still wearing his sunglasses, he never took them off. Instead of the wrinkled suit he had slept in, he wished a brand new one with a tie too. All black, of course. He quite liked his dishevelled hair, so he didn’t touch it, but for some reason he wasn’t completely satisfied with his usual attire, so he willed a pair of white braces into existence.  
  
He smiled proudly and only then noticed that his flat was perfectly orderly and his houseplants were once again verdant. Although he found it highly suspicious, he was kind of impatient to see Dominic, so he went outside, intent on stealing a car. He didn’t have to do it, though, for his beautiful Bentley was parked right in front of the building. It was the treasure of his life; he bought it new in 1926 and took care of it religiously.  
  
The demon just stood there gaping and not breathing for five minutes straight. Of course, this didn’t affect him as he didn’t need to breathe. Even his eyes flashed yellow in his excitement, before he willed them to stay…well, a more appropriate colour for human eyes.  
  
“Aw, yesss,” he hissed, something he tended to do whenever he forgot himself.  
  
While he was evidently overjoyed by this turn of events, he also grew suspicious. Did they go back in time before the Failpocalypse? Or was this a second chance to get it right? He got into the car and drove to Dominic’s place. Just as he suspected, the bookshop was there, in perfect condition.  
  
“Matthew, is that you?” the angel’s muffled voice sounded from the back room.  
  
“I’m not bothering you, am I?” Matthew asked and looked around a bit incredulously. He saw this place burning down; he entered the flames looking for his angel and now everything was back.  
  
“Of course not,” Dominic replied. “I would have called you if you hadn’t shown up. I’ll be there in a second.”  
  
Matthew peeked through the slightly open door; Dominic was standing with his back to him, putting on a shirt. Unlike Matthew, he bought clothes, quite expensive ones. Matthew turned away quickly, wishing away his blush. To occupy his thoughts, he took out a random book from the shelf in front of him. As luck would have it, it was a princeps edition of _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ by Oscar Wilde.  
  
Matthew hated the dude, despite his impressive debauched life. Surprisingly, Dominic seemed enchanted by him and Matthew was extremely jealous. He might or might not have had a say in the imprisonment of the famous writer. Well, _c’est la vie_. He celebrated alone on that day with lots of alcohol.  
  
Dominic entered the shop smiling while trying to put on a dark green tie. Matthew lolled his head to the right, inspecting the angel’s outfit. Oh, how satisfied he was! Dominic was wearing a greyish-green three-piece tweed suit with a beautiful lavender shirt. Matthew’s eyes crinkled with mirth behind his sunglasses as Dominic continued to fumble with his tie.  
  
“Here, let me help you,” he offered and the banal tie turned into an exquisite purple silk one with a lovely pattern.  
  
“Oh, that looks nice! Thank you, Matthew!” Dominic smiled. “Come, I’m inviting you to dinner.”  
  
“I was just about to propose the same. After all, it is the first day of the rest of our lives.”  
  
Dominic looked up, surprised. “Indeed,” he murmured as he put on his suit jacket and opened the door. “Shall we?”  
  
The angel bought bread and they went to St. James’s Park to feed the ducks. Matthew felt less tense in this familiar situation, but even so he watched silently the comical waddling of the ducks.  
  
“Matthew, dear, I must say you are very quiet today. Is everything all right?” Dominic asked, concerned, stepping closer to the demon.  
  
“Sure, just still getting used to the fact that we’re alive.” While this was true, it was not completely true.  
  
Matthew looked up at the ever darkening sky and said: “Let’s go to the Ritz before the rain catches us.”  
  
This habit of feeding the ducks and then dining at the Ritz at least once a week represented such an essential part of their friendship that both Matthew and Dominic were profoundly disappointed if they had to cancel their meeting. Their favourite table (in the left corner from where they could watch the whole restaurant) always happened to be empty.  
  
This was the only time when Matthew would take off his sunglasses, because – hello! – manners. Of course, he’d swap his yellow serpent eyes with a pair of gorgeous blue eyes. He agreed that it didn’t fit with his villain look, but once when Dominic and he were incredibly drunk, sometime around 1752, he confessed that of all the eye colours Matthew had tried through the centuries, he loved blue the most because it reminded him of home.  
  
Matthew watched as Dominic was perusing the menu, his grey eyes moving from one dish name to another, blond eyebrows furrowing. In that moment, Matthew would have given everything if he could have reached out and touched Dominic’s face. Frustrated, he sighed. At the same time a button from a waiter’s shirt fell in a client’s soup.  
  
Their waitress arrived and they placed their order. Matthew looked around the elegant restaurant; the ceiling with the amazing frescos, golden ornaments and crystal chandeliers were amazing. Then he rested his eyes on their reflection in the mirror that ran along the wall. Dominic was looking at a young couple with a warm smile and the guy kneeled with clear intent. Matthew didn’t take his eyes from their reflections and tried to judge them objectively.  
  
 _Many people, meeting Dominic for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide._ The angel wasn’t even aware he inspired such impressions. In the meantime, their waitress brought their dishes. Matthew nodded and continued the assessment of his own person. Well, _he had dark hair and good cheekbones. And he could do really weird things with his tongue._  
  
Still, nothing worth Falling for.  
  
Because that was what Matthew dreaded: if he confessed his feelings, who knows, maybe the angel would reciprocate them. Or Dominic’s bosses would find out that a demon has feelings for their agent and sentence Dominic to Fall. A waiter stumbled and dropped the orders of a family with three children. Cue crying and chaos.  
  
Matthew felt someone staring at him. He looked up, but instead of the accusing eyes he expected, Matthew’s blues met with Dominic’s compassionate gaze. Dominic didn’t look away as he flicked his left wrist; the manager stopped shouting, changed his mind and revoked the dismissal of the waiter and said the family’s dinner was on the house.  
  
“You clearly don’t feel well,” Dominic stated.  
  
Matthew shrugged. There was no point in denying it. Suddenly, there was a loud clap of thunder outside. All the guests turned their heads towards the windows, except Matthew and Dominic who continued to stare at each other.  
  
“Tell me,” Dominic asked softly.  
  
Here was his chance and yet Matthew faltered. He felt guilty already and didn’t think he could bear the thought of being the cause of his angel’s Fall. He bit his lip and held his breath, but soon released it.  
  
“I can’t, it’s…” he was searching for the right word in his mind.  
  
“Ineffable?” Dominic helped him.  
  
“Yes. It’s ineffable.”  
  
They both left the restaurant deep in thought, although Dominic’s eyes were kindled as if he’d just had an epiphany. The skies rumbled lowly as they walked the deserted streets. The wind tousled their hair and the smell of rain was present in the air. Dominic happened to find umbrellas for sale. It was a baker’s shop, you see, but they had umbrellas too. Pure luck. However, Matthew refused Dominic’s offer to buy one for him as well.  
  
It started to rain quite heavily, the drops falling hard against Dominic’s umbrella. Interestingly, the rain seemed to avoid Matthew: he was completely dry. He wondered if he should let the downpour soak him to the skin like in those films where the protagonist seems to find solace in the hellish weather.  
  
Unexpectedly, there was a warm hand on his left shoulder.  
  
“I know,” Dominic breathed. “I know your ineffable concern.” He wished away Matthew’s sunglasses. “But I’m staying here with you, my dear boy.” The blond caressed Matthew’s face. “Loving someone, even if they are a demon, is not a sin and therefore it won’t lead to my Fall.”  
  
Matthew made Dominic’s umbrella disappear and fell into waiting arms. They embraced each other tightly, Matthew exhaling with relief in Dominic’s neck. The demon extended his black wings and covered them from the rain as hungry lips finally met after yearning for each other for six millennia.  
  
Matthew laughed. “This day turned out better than expected.”  
  
Dominic smiled, raking his fingers through the demon’s dark hair.  
  
“It’s the first day of the rest of our lives.”

**Author's Note:**

> Gosh, I forgot to link the fanart to this fic. Because yes, the wonderful wangoes actually drew 2 pictures inspired by this story. They are absolutely amazing: [the first one](http://wangoes.tumblr.com/post/63844421992/transparent-pssst-go-read-thekeyholder-s) and [Matt and Dom feeding the ducks](http://wangoes.tumblr.com/post/63843855124/azi-dom-feeding-ducks-and-crowley-matt-being-a-lil). They are so perfect and I'm forever grateful to wangoes for drawing them. :)


End file.
